The present invention is a rail car adapted for ease of loading and unloading cargo, typically equipment used to maintain railroad track. The maintenance of railroad track requires a lot of effort and equipment, which is usually rather heavy. Some of the equipment has rubber tires, such as backhoes, but most of the equipment has steel rails wheels, thus being rail bound. Additionally, rail maintenance equipment typically does not have couplers, preventing movement as part of a train. The use of rail cars is one way to transport the maintenance equipment. However, the loading and unloading of the equipment onto and off the rail car is difficult and can be problematic. Generally, the loading and unloading of rail cars is done by various methods each of which has certain disadvantages.
One such method is to use a crane to load and unload the rail car. However, the use of a crane to load and unload rail cars is expensive. Further, this method can be rather time consuming and presents a certain amount of danger if the crane equipment were to fail.
Another method is positioning rail cars next to a stationary or permanent ramp or platform. The use of a ramp is fast and relatively safe. However, because such ramps and platforms are stationary, loading and unloading of rail cars is limited to the locations of such ramps or platforms. Additionally, the permanent ramp needs to comprise a rail like structure and also be connected or aligned to the rails for the loading and unloading of rail bound equipment. This would require a substantial length of track to move equipment from the rail to the ramp.
Another method is the use of a mobile ramp. This method requires placement of the ramp prior to loading or unloading of the equipment. Additionally, such a mobile ramp must still be present at the desired location. Due to the height of the rail car decks and heavy weight of the equipment being transported, such portable ramps must be a considerable length, thus requiring significant effort to transport the ramp. The length of portable ramps also requires considerable storage space to keep the ramp when not in use. As with the permanent ramp, the mobile ramp needs to comprise rail structures and be connected to or aligned with the rails for the loading and unloading of rail bound equipment.
Yet another method used to load cargo onto rail cars is the use of a ramp car such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,886. The disclosed rail car has a ramp hingedly connected to the rail car and when not in use the ramp is rotated to a vertical position. However, in an effort to reduce the size of the ramp, the deck of the rail cars are often lowered causing clearance and coupling problems. Further, the ramp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,886 does not allow for the loading of rail bound equipment.